For North Coast anglers, Memorial Day weekend serves up no shortage of fishing opportunities. Whether you’re targeting ocean species or heading inland, there’s something biting just about everywhere. With so many options available, the hardest decision may not be whether to fish — but where. Here are a few opportunities to consider this holiday weekend:
- Offshore for Pacific halibut and rockfish — The halibut bite has started off slowly, but the effort should pick up as we head into summer. Rockfish is always a good option if you have a means to get offshore. Cape Mendocino, Trinidad, and Crescent City are all kicking out a variety of tasty rockfish.
- Jetties for rockfish and lingcod —When the windisn’t howling, the jetties have been providing excellent rockfish and lingcod action. Small swimbaits or scampi jigs are catching fish as well as herring fished under a float.
- California halibut —If shore fishing is your only option, try Fairhaven Beach on the bay side of the Samoa Peninsula. Fishing is typically best a few hours before and after high tide, with swimbaits on a ¾-ounce jig head a solid choice. Boaters are finding occasional fish in the middle channel on swimbaits, frozen sardines and herring. Expect the bite to improve as tides settle and water temperatures warm.
- Freshwater Lagoon trout —Regularly stocked with catchable trout, Freshwater Lagoon offers solid opportunities for shore and boat anglers alike. A simple and effective setup is Berkley PowerBait fished with an egg sinker.
- Ruth Lake trout and bass —With warm weather in the forecast and a family-friendly atmosphere, Ruth Lake is a great holiday weekend destination. Reports suggest both trout and bass action is improving.
- Elk River redtail perch —If it’s perch you’re after and the ocean is too rough or not your thing, Elk River Beach is a great spot to target redtails. Two hours prior to high tide and an hour after typically are the optimal times. Shrimp, clams, swimbaits and sand crabs all work.
- Trinidad Harbor rockfish —A great option for rockfish and crab. Launching a small boat or kayak from the beach is fairly easy in good conditions, which should be the case this weekend. Typically getting an early start is best before the afternoon wind kicks in.
- Dungeness Crab —Anglers dropping pots around Trinidad are catching a good number of Dungeness crab when the weather cooperates. If it’s too rough, there’s some good locations inside Humboldt Bay. Out in front of the PG&E plant is a good spot as well as the flat off the South Jetty parking lot. Another top location is either side of the channel leading into the South Bay.
- North Coast rivers —Many of the local rivers will re-open to fishing beginning Saturday, May 23. Rivers that will open include sections of the main Eel (South Fork to Cape Horn Dam), South Fork Eel (South Fork Eel River from mouth to Rattlesnake Creek) Van Duzen, Mad, Little River, Mattole and Smith. Be sure to check the regulations prior to fishing.
- Fisheries currently closed: Red Abalone, Razor Clams (in Humboldt), Ocean and River Chinook fishing. Ocean salmon will be open June 13, and the Klamath and Trinity will open July 1.
Holiday weekend marine outlook
After weeks of stiff winds, North Coast anglers may finally get a weather window. Current forecasts call for fishable conditions through Memorial Day before stronger winds return Tuesday. Saturday, winds will be out of the northwest 5 to 10 knots and northwest waves 5 feet at nine seconds and southwest 1 foot at 17 seconds. Sunday, the wind will be out of the southwest 5 to 10 knots with northwest waves 5 feet at eight seconds and northwest 3 feet at 14 seconds. Monday is looking good as well, with south winds up to 5 knots along with northwest waves 2 feet at 7 seconds and northwest 4 feet at 13 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.
Ruth Lake Bass tournament coming June 6
Fortuna Rotary and the Southern Trinity Area Rescue will be holding the annual “Paul Jadro Memorial Bass Tournament” on Saturday, June 6. Blast off will be at 5:45 a.m. or at first safe light, by draw. The one-day tournament offers a first prize award of up to $1,000 with payout to 1 in 3 in addition to door prizes and sponsor products. The entry fee is $140 per team with a big fish buy in option of $10. The tournament is catch and release and all competitors must fish from boats that are required to have operational live wells on board. Life jackets are required. Check in at the Marina on Friday June 5 at 4:30-6 p.m. or Saturday 4:30 – 5:15 a.m. For more information, contact Lon Winburn at 707-499-2490.
California Halibut Derby on Humboldt Bay coming July 25
The Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association will be holding the second annual California Halibut Derby on Saturday, July 25. The fishing event will be held within the waters of Humboldt Bay. Check-ins, Weigh-ins, and Awards Ceremony will be held at Woodley Island, 601 Startare Drive at the East-I Lot Grass Area.
This is a slot size derby; a measurement will be drawn in the morning before the derby and posted to the event’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Adult payouts will be $500 for 1st place, $300 for 2nd place, and $150 for 3rd place. Youth Payouts – $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd place, $50 for 3rd place. Youth payouts will be in the form of gift cards. All Youths registered in the Derby will receive a rod and reel combo! Raffle prizes will include fishing trips, rods and reels, fishing tackle and gear, merchandise and more.
Big Fish Prize: entries will be California Halibut 30” and above. ONLY ONE Big Fish can be entered per entrant. In case of a tie, winner will be determined by weight. For the big fish, adult and youth divisions will be combined. Winner to be announced at event.
Entry Fees for adults are $60 (comes with a $30 NCGASA Membership). Youth entry fees are $40, 13 years and under (comes with a $10 NCGASA Membership)
*If you are a current NCGASA member, you will receive $20 in raffle tickets at check-in.
You can register online at https://ncgasa.org/product/california-halibut-derby/. Entrants will need to be signed up and paid for by July 24 at midnight.
The Oceans:
Boats fishing out of Shelter Cove, Eureka, Trinidad, and Crescent City have all been tied up for over a week due to high winds. Better conditions will begin Friday, and the long weekend looks plenty fishable.
Brookings
“Salmon fishing remained good out of Brookings until windy weather brought fishing to a standstill,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Better weather is expected this weekend. A mix of wild and hatchery kings are being caught, and coho, which can’t be kept until June 6, also are starting to arrive. Divers, Fish Flash flashers and anchovies are working best. Some charters are doing well with cut-plug herring. Lingcod and rockfish have been excellent. Halibut action has been slow out of Brookings.”
River openings
Sections of the main Eel (South Fork to Cape Horn Dam), South Fork Eel (South Fork Eel River from mouth to Rattlesnake Creek) Van Duzen, Mad, Little River, Mattole and Smith will re-open on Saturday, May 23. On most rivers, only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used. Click here for a complete list of CA river openings and regulations. The Chetco will open to fishing May 22.
Lower Rogue
According to Martin, spring salmon fishing on the Rogue took a nosedive as warm weather has led to mossy conditions. “Sea lions are making trolling in the bay difficult.”
Kenny Priest operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.
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